The WAM BAM Dirt Jump Jam and official Bike Park Ribbon cutting last Saturday surely was a resounding success.

I went down to check it out and when I arrived there hundreds of people were milling around and it was only six o’clock with ribbon cutting to be done at nine with some of the older competitors doing their runs in the dark under spotlights which was pretty cool to see.

City of Fernie Director of Leisure Services Allan Knibbs said he also was surprised to see the huge turnout and said that the crews had placed four seating stands around the park in anticipation but with the amount of people already out to see the event they could have used at least a couple more. But people improvised and sat on the roof of their vehicles , on dirt piles and on logs as well as standing to catch a glimpse of competitors as young as five zooming down the dirt structures.

It was fun to see how fearless some of the younger kids were, one young boy had hands off handle bars and did moves with his body as his bike flew in the air.

The MC mentioned several times how generous Fernie was, businesses donated a large number of prizes some that were of considerable high value so special thanks have to be reiterated to those who donated, but thanks and kudos must go to the mountain bike club and all the volunteers who made this wonderful event happen. The degree of interest took me by surprise, I had no idea that so many competitors would be involved and also that so many spectators would attend, many of which were from out of town.

As a member of council that supported this project when it was first presented I knew instinctively that this would be a great asset for Fernie kids but after attending this event on Saturday I realized how appreciated this facility truly is. Thanks again to the City of Fernie, all the sponsors, the competitors and especially the group of volunteers who organized the event and who initiated this facility. Kudos to all of you. Congratualtions on a job well done.